Internet radio and music-streaming service Pandora will introduce ads to Australian users, starting in December.

(Credit: Pandora)

In an email to Australian Pandora users, founder Tim Westergren said that the decision to introduce ads was to help subsidise the service. "Running Pandora carries significant costs, including a substantial portion of our revenue that we will pay in music royalties to songwriters and performers," he said.

"Advertising allows us to cover those costs, providing healthy compensation to musicians while still being able to offer you a free music service."

The advertising will appear to users as a combination of "visual and short audio spots", which is similar to the free, ad-supported tier of rival service Spotify. Users who wish to remove ads altogether can subscribe to Pandora One for US$3.99 per month or US$36 per year.

Pandora now joins the likes of fellow music-streaming services Spotify, Guvera, Deezer and Xbox Music, which all offer free, ad-supported tiers to Australian users.